


Let Me Count the Ways

by atlas_white



Category: Tintin (Comics), Tintin - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Intimacy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-05
Updated: 2014-03-05
Packaged: 2018-01-14 16:46:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1273750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atlas_white/pseuds/atlas_white
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fifty paragraphs on the relationship between Tintin and Captain Haddock. <br/>They could try to count the ways they love each other, the reasons, but there are just too many.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let Me Count the Ways

 

_Tintin & Captain Haddock - Let Me Count the Ways_

 

1\. lost

Captain Haddock had always been lost until the night Tintin found him.

 

2\. broken

Incredible the talent this youth had for making the broken whole again; nobody knew that better than the Captain, because that adventure made him come alive for the first time in years.

 

3\. never

When Haddock looked into those fierce eyes, he knew he would never leave Tintin's side again.

 

4\. forgiveness

Perhaps Tintin's greatest feature was his capacity to forgive, and in the beginning, Haddock unwittingly tested that capacity quite a lot.

 

5\. strength

There was so much strength in Tintin, sometimes it was astounding. It seemed nothing ever frightened him; he stood firm and fierce, and guided the way like a beacon.

 

6\. blush

Despite his truly tough countenance, Tintin's cheeks were always rosy with that ginger complexion of his; it had an alluring effect, and made him look even younger than he was. It was a part of what made him so irrestistible.

 

7\. adrenaline

With the adrenaline going the way it was, it was difficult for Haddock to slow down and impossible for him to stop. By the time he was finished, he'd had those blasted mercenaries on the run, and when it caught up to him what he'd done, he turned around to see Tintin laughing and clapping. Not about to let the lad get the better of him, the Captain took a bow.

 

8\. coat

"You look dashing in that coat," Tintin said, completely out of the blue, looking at Haddock in his gold-trimmed black captain's coat. The Captain was at a loss for words.

 

9\. moonlight

Tintin's pale skin and eyes seemed to glow in the light of the moon, and his ginger hair caught the light like a halo. When Haddock caught sight of him, it took his breath away.

 

10\. protect

It had been the silent vow Haddock had taken up, that he would protect the lad no matter what ever happened to them-- even though sometimes it was Tintin who ended up protecting him.

 

11\. desk

Haddock couldn't help but smile when he came into Tintin's study in the morning to find the desk covered in books, papers, and articles, and Tintin, hunched forward on top of it all, fast asleep with a pen in his hand.

 

12\. trouble

Right then, he wanted to tell Tintin, "You're more trouble than you're worth," but nothing could have been further from the truth.

 

13\. cold

Tintin was proud, and independant, but Captain Haddock was not about to let him freeze; he gently but firmly brought him into the tent and insisted he rest and allow the Captain to stand guard instead. Finally, Tintin relented.

 

14\. drink

Drink is the greatest enemy of sailors; Haddock said that, and he meant it, no matter how difficult that enemy would be to overcome.

 

15\. star

He didn't know how Tintin had reacted to the terrible heat caused by the star that night, or the startling earthquake the next morning, but Haddock had been thinking of the youth almost the entire time.

 

16\. dance

Dancing was not Tintin's strong suit; he'd clearly never learned. But Haddock remembered being taught by his insistent mother as a boy, and that knowledge finally became useful as for the first time, he was able to sweep Tintin off his feet and into the most graceful waltz his old sailor's feet could muster.

 

17\. irresistible

When Tintin looked him in the eyes and truly asked for something, Haddock felt his resolve melt away and could do nothing to stop it-- he was under the youth's spell.

 

18\. regret

Even though he could have put his foot down that night and stayed on the firm Earth, could have watched the rocket take off for the Moon with Tintin on board; even though he knew he was not being forced to make this journey he so dreaded, Captain Haddock never regretted coming along.

 

19\. if

In fact, if Haddock had not gone to the Moon, he would have spent the rest of his life regretting it...and missing Tintin. And Tintin, he knew that too; the Captain saved his life.

 

20\. hurt

Haddock was always afraid that the next time, it would be worse, so much worse than the last, but Tintin sat and the two together cleaned his wound, and he said that he was just fine. Sure, _this time_ , but that wouldn't stop the Captain from being afraid.

 

21\. care

Tintin smiled up at the Captain, nestled in his arms, and took Haddock's much larger hands in his own. "Don't worry, I'll always care for you."

 

22\. reunited

When he saw Tintin again after a terrible landslide had separated them, he was so overwhelmed he ran up to him with his arms open for a hug. When he saw Haddock approaching him, Tintin was so overwhelmed that he grabbed the Captain's head in his hands and kissed him firmly on the mouth.

 

23\. youth

It wasn't often Haddock was reminded how young the clever, strong, independant Tintin really was; those times when the youth struggled with his own emotions were nearly the only things that ever reminded him.

 

24\. comfort

Haddock didn't say a word, he just sat down by Tintin and pulled the youth to himself, letting him grab bunches of his sweater and let out everything he had bottled up.

 

25\. ritual

Each morning, they woke up together, Tintin did his stretches and Haddock brushed his teeth, and then they had breakfast. It was so routine it couldn't help but feel like home, and somehow it was a sign of just how their lives had come together as one.

 

26\. moving

When Tintin moved into Marlinspike Hall, Captain Haddock helped him to carry in his boxes and unpack them. He had no idea how Tintin managed to fit _so many_ things into that little flat of his, or how it came to be that most of those things were books!

 

27\. danger

It would be nice, Captain Haddock thought, if they could go through one solid week with no danger, no thugs, gangsters, no stories, adventures, and no treasure-- but when he turned around and saw Tintin examining some ancient ruby-eyed carving, he gave that hope right up.

 

28\. sky

The sky was blue and calm and beautiful, but that still did not make the Captain want to take an aeroplane; he wasn't against the trip, he just really wished they were headed someplace with a shoreline.

 

29\. rain

Trust stubborn Tintin to go trodding out in the rain and come back soaked and sneezing! Haddock had him undress and dried him off with a towel, wrapped him in a blanket and sat with him by the fire. He could have gotten mad, but no, in truth he found it comforting to hold Tintin and be reminded that some things would never change.

 

30\. lips

Tintin's lips were so soft, despite how often they got chapped on adventures. And only Haddock would ever be allowed to touch them, nibble them, kiss them.

 

31\. ocean

The ocean was once Haddock's life and home. It was strange to look out at it and realize how that was no longer true; now Tintin was both of those things to him.

 

32\. trust

"You need to trust me, Tintin!" Haddock shouted, feeling his heart pounding, holding his hand out, watching Tintin desperately to see what he would do next. Tintin did not hesitate; he reached out and firmly took his hand.

 

33\. quiet

Tintin stretched out and put his head against Haddock's chest. "Hm, it's so quiet I can hear your heart beat."

 

34\. adventure

Captain Haddock thought he would have prefered a life without so much adventure; eventually he realized that it gave a fulfillment to his life that made it worthwhile, and that made him understand Tintin that much better.

 

35\. bruises

Tintin's skin was so fair, it seemed unjust to see it all bruised and scratched. But that was the price of curiosity and adventure. Though if Tintin had been alone, it would have been much worse.

 

36\. journalist

"Look at this," Haddock said, holding up a newspaper announcing their search for Red Rackham's treasure. "These damn nosy journalists, they're all the sa..." he looked at Tintin, and suddenly felt terribly sheepish. Tintin just started laughing.

 

37\. foreign

Being in foreign lands was both a challenge and a joy, as Haddock wished he could be back home in comfort, and he couldn't help being swept up in the exotic beauty of locations he never would have seen otherwise, guided by a youth filled with the most infectious excitement and curiosity.

 

38\. clothing

Tintin had a charming penchant for wearing different kinds of clothing; everywhere he went, it seemed, he had to try some new costume.

 

39\. scent

Haddock stood at the door, watching in stunned silence as Tintin held his favorite sweater-- the one the Captain had been looking for-- to his face with a contented smile, his eyes closed. Maybe it would be better to let the lad hold on to it, for the moment.

 

40\. dreams

Strange or bad dreams were a problem for Tintin, especially with the traveller's insomnia he often got. It was a good thing he had Captain Haddock to hold him close and tell him that it was only a dream.

 

41\. sober

Staying sober was still a challenge, but as time went on it got easier; especially after Tintin moved into Marlinspike with him, and drink didn't seem nearly as important.

 

42\. language

No matter how often Haddock spoke and heard the French language, living in Belgium, it took on a new life whenever Tintin whispered to him in his native tongue: " _Je t'aime de tout mon c_ _œur_."

 

43\. freckles

Haddock nuzzled against Tintin's bare skin-- his beard tickling the lad and making him squirm-- and started to place one kiss after another in patterns along his body. "So many freckles," he murmured, "but I won't be satisfied until I kiss each one."

 

44\. storm

They weren't too bothered when the storm knocked the power out; Tintin and Haddock huddled close together under the covers, and went to sleep lulled by the sounds of rain and wind and thunder, feeling absolutely safe.

 

45\. weak-spot

Tintin's unrelenting curiosity extended even to making love, and once he gained his confidence in it, it didn't take him long to find the Captain's every weak-spot.

 

46\. passion

When Tintin whispered his name, or shouted it in the heat of his passion, that was bliss to Haddock. Careful touches, and Tintin's slender hands on his skin, and running through his black hair; the two men becoming one, that was pure bliss.

 

47\. sublime

Captain Haddock had never been especially skillful when it came to words; no poet, no bard, he only said what he meant, though he meant every word he said. He thought it would probably take every nice word he knew to describe Tintin, because to him he was simply sublime.

 

48\. safe

The Captain couldn't help but believe Tintin when he said they would be safe here, because he felt it too.

 

49\. love

Captain Haddock had never known such love as Tintin's, and felt honored that it should be his own. It was as if the journalist had been saving it for him all this time, and he would cherish it forever.

 

50\. Marlinspike

The château was ancient, standing taller and grander than any of the other buildings in the province that was named after it. When Haddock first moved into it, it was musty and cluttered, with many rooms still unexplored by its most recent residents. But Captain Haddock and Tintin saw to it, and rebuilt it together, cleaned it and spent hours exploring it. Together, they made the old manor a home, and that's the way it would always be. ☆

 

 


End file.
